Questionmy silly big headed husband wants me to find out how to go about starting a tow truck business and i know it takes a lot of steps but one thing im unsure of is if we were to hire a driver whats the going pay rate? of coarse i know its also based on experiance but wheres the figures range?
AnswerHuge loaded question here.
YES experience does factor into the pay, and then so do laws where you are and such.
Tow companies pay either by the hour, a salary, or a combination of hourly and commission or just plain commission.
Light duty towing, think cars and motor club stuff tends to be hourly in the most part with some commission there.
Heavy duty is also hourly but a lot more and yes they do pay only commission at times.
Minimum wage laws take into effect some of this answer, especially when paying commission and such.
Now I have to ask about your husband and why he wants to start a tow truck business. Does he have "ANY EXPERIENCE" in the towing industry at all. The job is really not a job it is a life style and for a company to start out and have employees at the beginning is almost a "failure in the making" in many cases.
Most tow companies are small operations with the owner also driving and the wife doing the dispatching and book keeping. That is a fact and the truth.
Now I suggest that your husband start researching the towing industry very closely as it is very expensive for the truck, insurance and all the needed extras. And it is very easy to lose money with damages to vehicles and all that, which tends to happen at times.
Check out the links below for towing forums where you and him can get information about towing and owning a business.
(And so you know, there is no "Tow companies for dummies" YET, as I have not even got 1/5th of the way though writing that book)
www.tow411.net
www.towtalk.net
www.priceperpound.info
Good luck and if you have more questions, feel free to ask here or on one of those boards.
